St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-11-05
A SAMPLE SPEECH.
The Political Candidate Gets in His Work
on the Farmers.

The Political Candidate Gets in His Work
on the Farmers.
The farmers gathered together at the
various county fairs this year had on ex-
hibition, in addition to the usual assortment
of horse-trots, prize babies, three-card monte
men and other agricultural products of this
great star-spangled nation, the political can
didate and his remarks.
Acondensed report of the average speech of
the last-named exhibit is appended
Gentlemen, agriculturists and brothers:
am proud to speak to you to-day, proud to
have the opportunity of addressing the men
who feed us all-the farmers. proud to have
the ears of the horny-handed sons Of toll.
/ love to meet you in your own open-taced
country, where the tall potato vine raises its
silken crowned tassel, and where the cucum-
Der tree drops its pungent pickle upon the
mellow ground.
When in the city, cooped up in walls of
bricks and mortar, my thoughts oft wander
to the meadows and woodlands where the
deep red blossoms of the succulent buck
wheat are announcing prospective yield of
ten tons of cakes to the acre, and the butter
nut tree is yielding its stores of thick cream.
Gentlemen, say that when think of the
strawberry bush putting forth its tender
leaves and vying with the clover tree in its
efforts to beautify the Landscape, want to
leave the MOL and toll and carking care ofcity
life behind me, HE to the green fields and
pleasant ~, DDS, and in indolent ease lie on a
spring bed fmaple sugar and gaze through
the overar, ng branches of the lettuce tree
, the blue ault above.
The charms Of country life ever had for
me an irresistible fascination. Born over
yonder in East Sandy township, for several
long, happy years it was my lot to prune the
tomatoes, graft the radishes, rake the cab
bages, NOW the celery, shake up the aspara-
gus beds, and do such similar chores as boy
of my size could.
In addition to these duties have often
ridden the geese to water, MIXED the sorrel
steer and gathered the teeming fruits of the
turnip tree. 1t was there learned the proper
time to shear the geese was when the moon
was full. and that the burrs in chestnut
horses tail could only be successfully eradi-
Gated when the moon was new.
There, too, learned that the subsoil pillow
should only be used in narrowing white
clover, and that young bulls should never be
harnessed to the fail until they have been
broken to the threshng machines.
Often have | sat on the cow-catcher of the
reaper and assisted in harvesting the boun-
teous crop of corn. Many are the evenings
l have passed full merrily in pleasant COM
pany, when all the boys and girls of the
neighborhood would meet and hold a grand
potato shocking or corn-w innowing, when
apples and innocuous hard cider formed the
exhilarating beverage.
l will say no more. I have told you
enough, gentlemen, to convince you that
your aspirations are my aspirations, your
hopes my hopes, and that your education
has been my education, and that if am
elected by your valuable suffrages to the
office for which my friends have insisted
shall run, shall ever remember that if the
farmers interests are paramount in this
country they are undoubtedly the most i'm
portant. WIN. Fl. SIvITER.